The suspect in the Southport stabbing attack has been charged with production of a deadly poison and a terror offence, police have said.
Axel Rudakubana is already accused of the murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, who were fatally stabbed at the Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29, and 10 counts of attempted murder.
Here is a timeline of events relating to the case.
– 2002: Rudakubana’s father Alphonse moves to the UK from Rwanda, according to an interview he gave to his local newspaper in Southport in 2015.
– August 7 2006: Rudakubana is born in Cardiff, Wales.
– 2013: The family, including Rudakubana’s father, mother and older brother, move from Wales to Banks in Lancashire, a few miles from Southport.
– July 29 2024: Shortly before midday, a knifeman enters a dance class at The Hart Space in Hart Street in Southport. Bebe, Elsie and Alice are fatally wounded. Eight other children are injured, as are instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes. Police say they have detained a male and seized a knife. Within hours, claims spread online that the suspect is an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023. Some claims include an alleged identity.
– July 30 2024: In the evening, a peaceful vigil is held outside Southport’s Atkinson arts venue, where flowers are laid in memory of those who died. Shortly after the vigil, a separate protest begins outside the town’s mosque in St Luke’s Road. People throw items towards the mosque, property is damaged and police vehicles are set on fire. Merseyside Police say eight officers suffered serious injuries.
– July 31 2024: Demonstrators gather in Whitehall, London, for an “Enough Is Enough” protest. Flares and cans are thrown at police and more than 100 people are arrested. Disorder also breaks out in Hartlepool, County Durham, and Aldershot, Hampshire.
– August 1 2024: Police announce that Rudakubana has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article. He is not named by police because of his age. He appears in court in Liverpool and Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Andrew Menary KC rules he can be named, as he is due to turn 18 in a week. A provisional trial date is set for January and the case is adjourned. Later that evening, demonstrators gather outside a hotel in Newton Heath, Manchester.
– August 2 2024: Three police officers are taken to hospital after disorder in Sunderland.
– August 3 2024: There are scenes of violence during planned protests across the UK, including in Liverpool, Hull, Nottingham and Belfast.
– August 4 2024: Disorder continues, including outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where masked demonstrators launch lengths of wood and sprayed fire extinguishers at police officers.
– August 5 2024: The Government holds an emergency Cobra meeting in the wake of the disorder and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vows to “ramp up criminal justice”. That evening, a peaceful vigil is held in Southport, a week on from the killings. Police deal with disorder in Plymouth, Devon and Darlington, County Durham.
– August 7 2024: Prison sentences for those involved in the unrest begin to be handed out. Derek Drummond, 58, is the first person to be jailed for violent disorder at Liverpool Crown Court, where he is sentenced to three years. More than 100 protests are planned for across the country, with counter-demonstrations taking place, but the majority of police forces report very little trouble.
– October 29 2024: Merseyside Police announce Rudakubana will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink the next day charged with production of a biological toxin, Ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism. A provisional trial date has been set for January next year.
